Patrick Hayden's research focuses on finding efficient methods for performing the communication tasks that will be required for large-scale quantum information processing. This includes methods for reliably sending quantum states through noisy media, methods for reliably encrypting or otherwise protecting quantum information from unauthorized manipulation, and protocols to enable multiple parties to process quantum information with a minimum of communication. He has also worked at the interface of quantum information and quantum gravity, finding there an unlikely, but possible application of quantum complexity theory. 

Prior to joining Stanford University in 2013, Hayden was an associate professor of computer science at McGill University and a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. He received his PhD from the University of Oxford in 2001.